Did Jesus die the most painful death?

[filmmaker]

Hi there,

I often here that Jesus died the worst death imaginable, and the most painful death on this earth.

I am a faithful Catholic, but I find that very hard to believe.

There are people kidnapped and tortured around the world, and mercy is shown upon them and they die a very long, excruciating death.

Jesus’s physical pain only lasted for about at most 12 hours if you include all the stress he experienced from the Garden of Olives.

And plus, He died quite early for someone undergoing crucifixion.

Thoughts?

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

I suppose the worst death imaginable would be a death that ended in despair. The suffering that Jesus endured was half-physical and half-mental. It was the most glorious death because it was an expression of God’s unlimited love for us. Nevertheless, His suffering was extraordinary. I suggest that you read the book, “A Doctor at Calvary.” It’s a book written by a doctor on the passion from a medical perspective. It’s available through shop.catholic.com. Because of what He knew, Jesus suffered far more than anyone with lesser knowledge. We just cannot compare His suffering with that of any of us. His is on another level all together.

What is truly unique about the passion and death of Jesus is that He is God and chose to demonstrate His love for us in a way that we could somewhat grasp–and yet His love cannot be contained by such suffering. It is limitless!

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.